Czekaj debuts hip hoppy kids book Sunday

Jef Czekaj, a pal of ours whose comics you might recognize from regular appearances of his "Grandpa and Julie: Shark Hunters" in Nickelodeon Magazine over the past decade, has turned to authoring and illustrating children's picture books. And he's having a free "book reading/dance party for kids" at Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St., Brookline, Massachusetts, at 11 a.m. this Sunday, May 2, to debut his new book "Hip and Hop, Don't Stop!" which is published by Disney Hyperion. It's the story of a slow-rapping turtle and a fast-rapping bunny competing in a big, funny rap-off. Czekaj is a very charming and talented and kid-friendly guy. He says, "I'm gonna read/rap my book, there will be snacks, some sort of activity, and a dance party DJ'd by DJ Pink Sweatshirt (aka T.D. from Big Digits)."

Previously:
Sept. 15, 2009: Jef Czekaj's more grown-up "The Gallant Prince."

MassArt announces $140M campaign, expansion

Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston has announced a $140 million fundraising campaign to build a new residence hall and Center for Design and New Media, renovate its galleries and campus center, expand its endowment, and increase its financial support for its students. MassArt reports that it already "has reached 63 percent of the $140 million goal."

The proposed renovation of the school's Bakalar and Paine galleries will offer a new more prominent Huntington Avenue entrance to the galleries, which presently are hidden inside the school. The galleries project aims to also construct a new reception lobby; a 125-seat lecture hall; curatorial, receiving and building spaces; and climate control systems. The planned 21-story residence hall on Huntington Avenue, with 493 beds, would double the school's housing.

A groundbreaking for the residence hall was held Tuesday, construction is expected to begin shortly, with the building scheduled to open in fall 2012. Work on the campus center is already underway, and is expected to be finished this summer. Feasibility studies for the galleries and Center for Design and New Media were done in 2009, and construction is expected to take place in the next few years – depending on fundraising.

MassArt aims to increase its endowment from $9 million to $17 million to help fund student financial aid as well as faculty fellowships, staff development, visiting artists, and the school's Center for Art & Community Partnerships.

Additionally, the school aims to increase its fundraising for its MassArt Fund from $1.5 million to $2 million each year beginning in 2012. It's "primary use," according to the school, is student financial aid, but it also supports academic programs and faculty development through research and fellowships.

Rose announces fall exhibits

The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University has announced that it plans to present "Atmospheric Conditions," a three-person exhibit featuring Eric Fischl, April Gornik and Bill Viola this September. The show, which is being organized by Rose Director of Museum Operations Roy Dawes, will display borrowed artworks, according to Andrew Gully, Brandeis's senior vice president of communications and external affairs.

Also in September, the Rose plans to offer "WaterWays," an exhibit showcasing works "that utilize water as form, muse, metaphor and inspiration" by John Marin, Fairfield Porter, Milton Avery, Neil Welliver and Roy Lichtenstein from the museum's permanent collection.

The Rose's current exhibit, "The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis: Works from the Collection" has been extended, and is now scheduled to run through June 20. Afterward the museum expects to close until the new shows open in September.

NEJAR revamping

Dear Reader(s),

The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research is in the midst of tinkering with our design and moving some of our archives around and so on — as mentioned previously. This is a messy, clumsy process, so for now NEJAR is temporarily located at http://aesthetic.gregcookland.com/.

You should be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, but our friends at Blogger may not have quite set this up correctly, so you may need to click here.

Sorry for any inconvenience. We hope to resolve all this over the next week. As always, thank you, dear Reader(s), for your help and support and patience.

— The Management

“The Armenian Genocide" at URI Feinstein

From our review of “The Armenian Genocide: 95 Years Later, In Remembrance” at the University of Rhode Island’s Feinstein Providence Campus:

In April 1915, Turks of the Ottoman Empire began killing the Armenians in their midst. Soldiers rounded up hundreds of Armenian clergy, intellectuals, and members of parliament. Many were shot. Other Armenians were “deported” — forced to march or packed into trains, without food or shelter, across mountains and desert to concentration camps. The empire was crumbling and Turks apparently feared the growing strength and nationalism of the Armenian community.

News reports told of torture; crucifixions; rapes; a thousand men, women and children burned to death inside a locked building; dozens of Armenians tied together and thrown into a lake to drown. To this day Turkey does not acknowledge the extent of the killing, but some 1.5 million Armenians perished.

Berge Ara Zobian, owner of Gallery Z in Providence, has assembled works by more than 40 artists in “The Armenian Genocide: 95 Years Later, In Remembrance,” at the University of Rhode Island’s Feinstein Providence Campus (80 Washington Street, through April 30). It’s an important subject, deserving serious attention, but the art is disappointingly amateurish, ranging from overwrought goth to cutesy folk to late Cubism.

Read the rest here.

“The Armenian Genocide: 95 Years Later, In Remembrance,” at the University of Rhode Island’s Feinstein Providence Campus, 80 Washington Street, Providence, April 1 to 30, 2010.

Pictured from top to bottom: Kevork Mourad’s painting from the series "Fireflies Over the Euphrates" and Stephen Koharian's painting "Turkishness 2."